Cigar-bunching machine.



. N. DU BRUL. GIGAR BUNGHING MACHINE. APPLICATION PILPD JUNPrla, 1909.

1,002,655. Patented sept.5,1911.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

N. DU BRUL. GIGAR BUNGHING MACHINE. PPLIOATION FILED JUNE 19, 1909.

1,002,655. I I Patented Sept. 5, 1911.

2 SHEETS-BHEET 2.

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arbor/14u36 COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH co.. WASIHNGTUN. n. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

NAPOLEON DU BRUL, 0F CINCINNATI, OHIO.

CIGAR-BUNCI-IING MACHINE.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, NAPOLEON DU BRUL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cincinn ati, in the county of Hamilton and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Cigar-Bunching l/lachines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to machines in which a quantity of tobacco is placed into a hopper and fed in measured charges to a slide which delivers the charges successively to a rolling apron in order to form a cigar bunch and apply the binder thereto.

In machines for this purpose, as heretofore constructed, difficulty has been experienced in maintaining uniformity in the size of the charge of tobacco that goes to make up the bunch; it being found that adjustments which insure the desired weight of bunch while the supply receptacle (for eX- ample the hopper) is filled with tobacco, produce bunches of less and less weight as the hopper becomes emptied; or, if adjustment is made suitable for a reduced bulk of tobacco in the hopper, the bunches will be too heavy when the measuring pocket is under the influence of a larger bulk in the hopper.

One object of the present invention is to prevent undesirable variations in the weight of the bunch, notwithstanding the gradual using up of the tobacco in the supply receptacle.

To this end, one feature of the present invention consists in providing a limiting guard or barrier for the pocket which determines the size of the charge leaving' the hopper, and keeping the bulk of tobacco above or around the measuring pocket, substantially const-ant or sufliciently near constant to prevent objectionable variation in the weight of the cigar bunches produced; in other words preventing the Ineasuring pocket coming under the influence of the varying pressure of tobacco in the hopper, the guard or barrier being preferably designed to provide a supplemental or provisional tobacco receptacle surrounding the measuring pocket, and a main receptacle for tobacco in bulk, having such communication as to insure substantially constant depth of tobacco over the measuring pocket in the provisional receptacle or chamber.

In the embodiment selected for illustration of the invention, the measuring pocket is Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed .Tune 19, 1909.

Patented Sept. 5, 1911.

serial No. 503,216.

likewise the throat or passage by which the measured charges of tobacco escape to the feed slide.r A barrier is preferably located in advance of the opening through the guard in order to prevent choking of the tobacco at the entrance to the guard.

Another object of the present invention is to simplify means fo-r feeding the tobacco to the pocket, to which end another feature of the invention consists in providing a single disk, preferably with a conical upper surface, provided with radial wings and rotating intermittently with a step-by-step movement in the bottom of the hopper in order to bring the tobacco to the pocket in quantity suiiiciently near constant to satisfy requirements.

Another object of the present invention is to provide means for smoothing the binder as it is rolled about the bunch, to which end another feature of the invention consists in combining with the rolling lever, in position to coperate with the apron as it passes over the bunch roller, a smoothing bar having means whereby it is laid flat upon the rolling table prior to the commencement of the rolling action, but is laid against the bunch rollers, with the apron and binder intervening when the rolling action commences so that the apron draws past the leaf in the direction opposite tothat in which the leaf moves to the filler, and thereby smooths out the leaf.

My invention will be fully understood upon reference to the accompanying drawings, in which,

Figure l is a side elevation, partly in section, of a machine of known type having my present improvements embodied therein; Fig. 2 is a plan view of the hopper on an enlarged scale; Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3 3, Fig..2; Figs. 4 and 5 are perspective views showing two positions of the smoothing bar; Fig. 6 is a detail view illustrating the rolling and smoothing action; and Fig. 7 is a detail view of the cam wheel which operates the plunger working in the discharge pocket.

The frame A with the operating mechanism B, the main hopper C, with the matrix slide D, the charging plunger E, the outer discharging plunger F, and the apron Gr, with its controlling levers g, g may be constructed substantially as disclosed in p atents heretofore granted to me. The hopper C is preferably provided with a vertically elongated or deepened pocket c, as described in my co-pending application, Serial No. 440,158, iled June 24, 1908.

In order to prevent the varying weight of the bulk of tobacco contained in the hopcarried by the wings 3 on the rotating disk 4, and this opening 2 may be regulated 1n size by a vertically adjustable gate 5. The

opening 2 admits to the discharge opening or pocket c, a quantity of tobacco suitable to insure proper filling of the pocket and suf- Q degree of uniformity in the weight or size viiciently near constant to maintain a suitable f of thevbunches. In addition to the guard 1,

tobacco is further restricted by a barrier 6 projecting ,above the plane of the wings 3,

so as to avoid tendency of the tobacco to bel come packed in the corner against gate 5. v

By employing the particular form of guard 1 disclosed herein, a space is provided for the operation of the plunger F, and the feed may be observed at any time. But I I do not limit myself to this particular form. The conical bot-tom disk 4, with its wings 3, is intermittently rotated, stepeby-step, by

a pawl 7 carried by the matrix slide D, and engaging, in the forward direction, the ratchet wheel 8. Y

The slide D is reciprocated by a cam lever in the usual manner, so as to bring the matrix Z over the pocket formed in the apron to receive the measured, charge of tobacco preliminary to rolling.

The particular construction of smoothing device selected to illustrate this feature of my invention is shown more clearly in Figs. 4, 5 and 6, yand comprises the bar 9 having end mountings 10- pivoted at 11 to the rods 12, which are mounted to reciprocate in bearings 13 on the rolling lever 14, and drawnV normally rearward by the springs 15. The ends of the mountings 10 are curved as shown at 16. When the lever assumes the position shown in Figs. lpand 4, the ends of the rods 12 abut against the stops 17, and the bar 9 is permitted to lie upon the rolling table in. position to permit. the binding leaf to be laid uponit spaced apart fromthe rollers to admit the. charge of to bacco between the bar and the rollers, upon the rolling apron and binder leaf; lbut when the lever 14 moves forward, springs 15 draw the rods 12, and through them the smoothing, bar 9, rearward, during which motion the curved ends 16 act as cams to raise the bar 9, so that continued inward movement of rods 12 will cause the bar 9 to lay the leaf lightly against that part of the rolling apron which is passing around the bunching rollers 18 (of which there may be two or one). Continued forward movement of the lever 14 will cause the rolling apron to brush against the leaf in the opposite direction to that in which it is feeding, and smooth it out, as it is wrapped around the bunch; see Fig. 6.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new therein and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. In a cigar bunching machine, a main receptacle, a supplemental receptacle, having a measuring device into which tobacco is fed, to determine the quantity of tobacco entering into the filler; means maintaining a substantially constant depth of tobacco in said supplemental receptacle over said measuring device.

2. In a cigar bunching machine having a measuring opening and a hopper from which tobacco is fed to said measuring openy ing; a guard preventing a portion of the bulk of the tobacco from lying over the measuring opening, but permitting tobacco to feed laterally past the guard to the f measuring opening, a rotary means for feeding the tobacco to the measuring opening and a barrier extending above the plane o` the rotary feeding means, in advance of the guard, and preventing the tobacco packing against the guard.

3. In a cigar bunching machine, a hopper having a measuring pocket having an upwardly presented filling opening and a lguard preventing the tobacco in the hopper lying over the filling opening of the pocket, and having a lateral opening throu h which tobacco is admitted to the space a ove the pocket.

V4. In a cigar bunching machine, a hopper having a measuring pocket, a guard preventing the bulk of the tobacco from lying upon the measuring pocket, having a lateral opening through which the tobacco is admitted to .the measuring pocket, and a means for advancing tobacco through said lateral opening to the measuring pocket.

5. In a cigar bunching machine, a hopper having'ameasuring pocket, a guard preventing the tobacco of the hopper from lying above the measuring pocket, having a lateral opening through which the tobacco is admitted to the measuring pocket, and a means for advancing tobacco through said lateral opening to the measuring pocket, comprisingf a rotary disk having peripheral wings passing successively through said lateral opening as the disk is rotated.

6. In a cigar bunching machine, a hopper having a measuring pocket, a guard preventing the bulk of the tobacco resting over ing over the measuring pocket, and having a lateral opening through which tobacco is fed to the measuring pocket, and means for feeding tobacco through said lateral opening an'd maintaining a substantially constant depth of tobacco above the measuring pocket.

8. In a cigar bunching machine having a bunching roller lever and a rolling apron, means coperating with said rolling apron to smooth the binder leaf, comprising a bar movable from a position lying upon the rolling table, to a position against the apron, and means automatically moving said bar from the former position to the latter as the rolling action commences, consisting of the end mountings for the bar having cam-ends, the rods upon which said bar is pivoted, means drawing said rods inward as the roll action takes place, and means pressing said rods outward when the rolling lever assumes a position to permit deposit of the tobacco uponthe apron.

9. In a cigar bunching machine, having a bunching roller lever and a rolling apron, means coperating with said rolling apron to smooth the binder leaf, comprising a bar movable from a position lying upon the rolling table, to a posit-ion against the apron, and means automatically moving said bar from the former position to the latter as the rolling action commences, comprising the pivotally supported end mountings for said bar having cam-shaped ends adapted to impinge the rolling lever, andthe reciprocating rods through which said mountings are supported, having springs drawing them inwardly and having relatively ixed abutments for forcing them outward.

l0. A cigar bunching machine, comprising a measuring pocket, a. hopper'from which tobacco is fed to the measuring pocket, a guard plate positioned within the hopper and forming a chamber above and in constant communication with the measuring pocket, said plate having an opening to permit a limited amount of tobacco to be fed from the hopper to the measuring pocket.

11. A cigar bunching machine, comprising a measuring pocket, a hopper from which tobacco is fed to the measuring pocket, a chamber directly over and in constant communication with said pocket and with said hopper, and adjustable means for determining the extent of communication between the hopper and said chamber.

l2. A cigar bunching machine, comprising a hopper, a measuring pocket, a feeding means for conveying tobacco from the hopper to the measuring pocket, a guard plate secured to said hopper and forming a chamber above the measuring pocket, said guard plate having an opening adjacent to the plane wherein the feeding means travels, and a vertically movable plate for regulating the size of said opening.

The foregoing specification signed at New York city this third day of J une, 1909.

NAPOLEON DU BRUL.

In presence of two witnesses- FERDINAND CHUDOBA, ALFRED MANN KERCHLEY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

